In the vicinity of the city of Teapa, a small town nestled in the foothills of the Sierra de Chiapas, south of Tabasco, there is a set of several caves whose wealth does not consist of pre-Hispanic treasures or gold or silver mines, but small spheres of the size of a marble made of concentric layers of calcite.
This site is located in a cave near the Coconá hill, in an area of less than one hectare. This cavern, like the previous ones, presents a horizontal development with spacious passages and rooms. Two hundred meters into the cavity we came to a room with two branches.
When reaching the bottom of the gallery, the lights of the lamps reveal an extraordinary vision: the entire floor is covered by thousands and thousands of pisolitas. The marble carpet covers a crescent-shaped space 8 m wide by 6 m deep.
Cave pearls are formed when a core of matter, such as a grain of sand, begins to accumulate successive layers of calcite as a result of the movement produced by drops and splashes of water.
When lighting the interior, it is observed that the gallery is a cat flap that continues for several meters and that the tapestry of marbles extends into darkness.
The cat flap opens into a gallery more than 25 m long, almost 5 m high and 6 wide.
The pisolitas cover the entire floor of the chamber. It is a petrified ocean of thousands, probably millions, of spheres whose average size is 1 to 1.5 cm in diameter. Although rare, there are also spheres of up to 7 cm.
As you walk through the center of the gallery, the marbles creak loudly, producing a sound similar to crushing gravel. Due to their solid constitution they do not suffer any damage.
In the central part of the gallery the mantle of pisolitas disappears. The ground is covered with solidified calcite. Large stalactites hang from the ceiling and the entire wall on the right is massively concreted with columns. Meters further on, the gallery narrows, and as it surrounds a column the passage turns to the right. Again the soil has a thick layer of spheres.
Thirty meters later the passage ends in a 5 m high vaulted chamber, in the center of which stands a beautiful column.
A hole in the wall takes us through 70 m more galleries at the end of which is the exit of this wonderful site.
To get to the Grottoes:
Leaving from the city of Villahermosa, take federal highway no. 195 to Teapa, which is approximately 53 km away. From Teapa follow the road towards Tapijulapa and after 5 km or so you will find the entrance to “Piedras Negras”, where you will turn south, reaching the town of La Selva, in the foothills of the Madrigal mountain range.
